Rep: Well, now we've taken care of everything. Is there anything else I can do for you today?
Misti: No, that's it. Except, well... The hold music is really awful. It's just the same message over and over again.
Rep: Oh, I'm sorry. I think they changed it recently. We can't control it.
Misti: Oh, I know that. It's just, maybe you could add some tips on what to do if you're attacked by velociraptors or something--
Rep: I know it used to, so I'll definitely pass on your input.
Misti: ??
Rep: And this call is being recorded, so I'll bring it up to someone.
Misti: Um... ok?

I don't think she was really listening to what I was saying. I very much doubt that Triple A used to have a safety message on what to do when attacked by fast-moving pack-hunting dinosaurs.

Last night I dreamed that I drove up north to visit operafloozy , and once I got there and managed to pry her out of her office building, we drove around in my car, getting lost in snow drifts and eventually having to dig the car out after a particularly large (and strangely sudden) snowfall. She kept telling me to hurry, hurry, we had to get to the parking lot soon, or the bus will leave without her. I got us to the parking lot, but the bus was nowhere to be seen. I believe that amidst all the confusion, she imparted the fact that the bus driver was her boyfriend. So we're standing there, shivering in the dirty snow of the parking lot, leaning on my car, waiting for the bus. Which either never came, or at least did not come before I woke up.

Getting car insurance coverage in NJ is one of the most obnoxious, painful, god-awful wastes of time that I've ever encountered. Consider: I have been looking at places for 3 weeks, come close to getting insurance 3 times, and I'm STILL uninsured. The whole NJ attitude I encounter when on the phone with people is not helping either.

Reading all these romance novels has had a terrible side effect. I feel so lonely. Crap.

I got through these weird music cravings sometimes where I just have to listen to the SAME song on constant repeat all day. It's kind of a marathon to see how long I need to get it out of my system. Some time in sophomore year of college it was "Summertime" by the Sundays. Also, "I'm An Angel" by Hank Dogs. In high school, I had "Bright Lights" jarred in there. These were songs that took a little more than a day to work their way out. I'm on my THIRD day of the Brown Derbies a capella version of "Save Tonight". It's been on constant repeat for the past 2 days and today, and it's shot up to the top of my play count. This is ridiculous. I don't see this ending any time soon.

I don't claim to be a world traveler or anything fancy, but I've seen and joined my share of libraries. From assisting with the SSFFS Library at Smith, to getting a library card in each of my home towns, to acquiring a zippy new key-ring card from each out-of-the-way region I visited while working for Kaiser. I've seen a rural libraries, tool libraries, city libraries with hobos sprawled on the tables. I've seen libraries with gothic architecture, and libraries done in the art deco mode of the '20s. I revel in the ability to gain a town or county's worth of books with a single free card.

But when I came back to Livingston, I had some adjustments to make. I've seen my share of libraries with dumb policies or poor infrastructure. Oakland didn't let you put a hold on movies, and South San Francisco charged you 75 cents for every hold. My local branch in Oakland closed for mold abatement. The Manteca library charged money for any book that had to be brought in from another library, even if it was part of their lending system.

But the Livingston library -- having just finished extensive renovations to dramatically increase the volume of books it could hold -- is still in a state of disarray. My unabashed joy at borrowing books becomes a ticking clock of racing back and forth. Some changes which I hope will be instituted post haste (and probably won't be):

1) The Online Request System - Sacramento had one of the best online booking systems I've ever encountered. It let you search in an unhampered way. You could request books and movies, schedule requests ("I don't need this book right now, but I'll need it in 2 months"), place requests for new purchases, borrow e-books directly from the site, and, most notably, alter your requests.

• a) Livingston needs to vastly update its system. The search function is unwieldy and difficult to even find from the home page. The advanced search features are nothing more than "which library would you like to find this from?"
• b) The system should allow for "holds on your holds". That is to say, in Sacramento, I could request a book, but if I was still in the middle of reading one, I could put a check mark next to the one I'd be getting in the future which told the library I wasn't ready to actually have them ship it to the right library yet.
• c) As the system currently stands, there is no way to request further materials unless you actually chat up a dusty old librarian. And the ones in Livingston put up with a lot of shit, so they're not really interested in talking to anyone.
• d) There is NO system in place for altering your requests. I'm sorry, did you put in 2 requests for the same book by mistake? Too bad. There's no way to take the request off. None. Did you decide you no longer needed the book? Too bad.

2) The Inter-library Loan - Livingston is part of BCCLS ("Buckles"), which allows patrons to borrow books from any library in the system. Just place a request for it on the online request system. The library will call you when the book is ready for pick-up.

• a) Unfortunately, in the BCCLS system, theft must be such a problem, that the sending libraries check out the book to you on the day they ship it. This means that, should you request a 14-day book from a sister library, and it takes 5 days to get to your patron library, you've only got 8 days to read and return. Some of you are probably wondering what happened to that last day...

3) Organization - Let's say you DID do the unthinkable and put a book on hold. Good lord, what hath you wrought!

• a) The day your patron library receives your book, they are supposed to send you an email. Lately, they've been calling my phone instead, which is just plain annoying. Stick to the emails.
• b) However, your patron library has only received the book. They haven't actually shelved it in the Hold section yet. It won't actually be shelved until the day after they call/message you. So you lose a day. God forbid you go in on the day they call you. They will NOT be able to find your book to save their lives. Your 9 days of reading just got shrunk to 8. Revert to a system where the borrower's time does not start until they acquire their book.

4) Funds - The library tried to charge me a dollar to renew my library card, just because I've had it since I was a teen. Apparently, in Livingston, your library card now expires every 3 years. What's up with that?

5) Patronage - Livingston library is very lucky. It's a town of 30,000 people. The town's only high school is about 100 yards away which means increased patronage in the afternoons when school lets out. In 2003, the town voted to give an extraordinary amount of the collected taxes to the library to increase its girth to ease the cramping it had experienced for the past 5 years. Patronage due to these expansions has shot through the roof, and the number of people I see there each time I enter is quite high. Although the library has 6 check-out desks, only 1, 2, or 3 of them are ever used at a time, leading to long lines full of busy students, mothers with young children, old folks, and people like me.

• A self-checkout kiosk or counter for books (not cds, dvds, or other media) would not be beyond the pale. Though I know these systems cost a lot, the number of patrons shuffling through the building each day would be well served by a system where you didn't have to wait for a librarian to notice you. It would certainly relieve some of the strain.

Misti: scootering is fun! nothing makes a day more joyful than a scooter in the sunshine

Rob: brunch with julie andrews and/or leonard nemoy [sic] (would be better)

Misti: brunch with julie andrews, DINNER with leonard nimoy. I have the feeling that julie would make delightful small talk over scones

Rob: yep. why dinner in all caps with leonard

Misti: just to make sure you knew it wasn't brunch

Rob: ah. why not?

Misti: he WOULDN'T make small talk over scones. Leonard Nimoy does not do small talk. Only deep, soul-searching talk.

Misti: And scones are hardly the appropriate accompaniment to that.

I actually used the video capture setting on my camera for the first time (intentionally), and put together a really short, only slightly amusing video of my dog outside.



The best thing is that she still acts like this. She's turning 17 this June!

Well, now that I'm firmly back in the Garden State, it's time for a to do list. Blech.

1) Clean my room at Dad's house.
a) Clean the rest of the house.
b) Prep for a yard sale.
2) Clean my room at Mom's house.
a)Clean the rest of the house.
b)Prep for a sidewalk sale.
3) Look for a Job
4) Finish my drawing project
5) Take the GMATS
6) Prep for June's Camp Alumnae Reunion
7) Prep for July Camping trip with Mom and Jackie
8) Shop for new bed linens (preferably two-toned, I think)

Maybe something like:

or this:

or this:

Guys, I really don't understand what all the meshugas is about. It's a flu. Just like all the other flus that go around every year. It's treatable (with Tamiflu) and preventable (with hand-washing hygiene and a vaccine that's scheduled to be on market by June or earlier). It's not the plague or anything. And while it CAN be serious, the fact that there's only 7 people hospitalized due to it makes me think it's not really a big deal. If you have a strong immune system and you wash your hands often, you should be fine.

Why is this "breaking story" on the Yahoo.com homepage constantly for the past 2 days?

So. I'm leaving California. I'm going back to Nj and my move out date is April 30th. Tomorrow, I put in for 2 weeks of PTO for the end of the month. And on Friday, I'm putting in my resignation notice. I'm actually terrified, but I'm not sure why. It's all rushing up on me so fast, I'm scared I won't get everything done that I need to. I'm also really sad about leaving Rob, although I know it's the right thing to do. There ARE some things I'll miss about California. He's one of them. I wish I felt more ready for this.

I admit, I wore a ring on my ring finger of my left hand today all day, and not a single person asked me about it. Much more effective: changing my facebook status. Don't worry guys, I'm not actually engaged OR moving out to the middle of the ocean.

man, I've just been sitting here, and suddenly I realized that I had the most insane toe lint ever. As in, 2.5 inch long strand of toe lint. Life is so weird.

. . . I finally manage to get a fisheries job, this song will MOST DEFINITELY be on my playlist.

A lot of you know that I sometimes cosplay (For those not in the know, it's basically making costumes and wearing them to conventions, or whatever. They're usually well-known and beloved characters). Maybe you've seen my profile pictures. Maybe you've even seen me at a convention!

But here's the thing. It's been about 2 years since I last made a costume, and I think it's time to jump in and make another. My last costume was Little Red Riding Hood (so... lots of red).


And the costume before that was an original character by a friend of mine; basically a Cthulhu Worshipper (so... lots of green).


I've had others before that, but these are the most recent.

I'm taking suggestions for what my next big costume project should be. Hopefully it'll be something I know, or a concept I at least understand. Heck, you can even draw an original design, and I'd consider it.

Here's the rules:
Whatever the costume, there has to be full-coverage. No bare boobs, butt, or hoo-ha.
I don't do armor. I'd love to do it some day, but my current housing situation means that papier mache is better left for another time.
I'm not really a fan of wigs, so preferably the character can be played with long-ish brown or dark hair.
When you make a suggestion in the comments field, please include a link to a photo/picture of the character/costume you're referring to.

Have at it, folks!

So, some of you know that I've been trying to get my days off switched from Fridays and Saturdays to Mondays and Tuesdays. And my supervisors are trying to make the process as involved and difficult as possible.
An Order of Events:
1) 1/26/2009 - The new schedule is released. I have Fridays and Saturdays off. Crap. Why do I have Fridays/Saturdays? They asked me what days I wanted. And they ignored me!
2) 1/28/2009 - I message the subleads asking how I can get my days switched. They message back and tell me all (ALL!) I have to do is find someone in my domain, on my team, and preferably on my shift who wants to switch with me.
3) 1/28/2009 - I am on the Orange Team, working evenings, in Optime (surgery). My team has several Optime people (7), but only 3 (including myself) are on the evening shift. None have Mondays and Tuesdays.
4) 1/29/2009 - I get rid of my team qualifier. I ask around other teams. "Are you in OpTime? Do You work Evenings? Do you have Mondays and Tuesdays off?" I can't find anyone. There are NO people in the entire domain who fit this description.
5) 1/30/2009 - I ask the subleads if they are messing with me. Are there ANY people who have Monday/Tuesday off? "Of course!" they reply.
6) 1/30/2009 - Well, I can't find anything. I check the schedule and find that at present we are scheduled to have 7 BACs working on Monday evenings in OpTime, and 9 BACs working on Tuesday evenings. This is complete overkill. I figure I don't actually have to Switch with anyone else. They can spare one BAC on those days and gain one on Fridays (5) and Saturdays (6). I suggest this to the subleads. They say this is impossible.
7) 2/2/2009 - I ask my manager about my idea in number 6. The answer is still no. They have apparently carefully built the entire schedule for the remainder of the year and if I changed days off without switching with someone, "it would create a domino effect and ruin the entire schedule." I find this a little far-fetched.
8) 2/3/2009 - I send an email to my manager asking if the past 6 weeks of training (meant to cross-train us) means that I can actually look outside my domain. She says, of course it does! Just find someone who doesn't mind switching to OpTime and let them know.
9) 2/4/2009 - I send an email to all the BACs asking for someone in Med/Surg who wants to switch. I get 14 responses from people who have Tuesdays/Wednesdays. I need Mondays/Tuesdays.
10) 2/5/2009 - I send another email to all the BACs saying it's ok if they're in one of the other Domains. I get more responses from people who have Tuesdays/Wednesdays and a few who have Sunday/Monday. I am starting to give up hope.
11) 2/6/2009 - I finally get a response from a Med/Surg BAC who had been on a sick day when I sent out the original email. We both want to switch right away. We send in the appropriate forms to the Subleads. Thank goodness. I am ready to switch!
12) 2/8/2009 - At work at the hospital, the other BAC and I meet up and go to talk to our sublead. Not so fast. I'm told that we can't switch until I train the other BAC to be in OpTime. I'm not aware that this is my job, particularly since we're all apparently cross-trained enough according to our manager. Whatever. I'm willing to do whatever it takes.
13) 2/8/2009 - I spend all evening reteaching the other BAC the entire OpTime workflow. We are tired, but happy. Now we can switch!
14) 2/8/2009 - I call the sublead up and tell him we're set to switch, now that I've trained him. The other BAC seems solid on details. Our sublead looks harried. We are told that we can't actually switch until the subleads all meet together and have a discussion about it. On Tuesday. We absolutely won't be switching until at least next week. I am furious. I have done EVERYTHING they tell me to do. Why does there need to be discussion???
15) 2/9/2009 - I am planning to tell the sublead on duty tonight that I want to be at the meeting tomorrow. Afterall, I've been working on getting this switch for over 2 weeks now. This is starting to border on ridiculous.

P.S. After writing this, I realize that also, it is THAT time of month, and while there's no way my subleads could or even SHOULD know this, it's just not a good time to be messin' with me.

Here guys, have a whole mess o' a capella!

Fame - UNC Loreleis

Listerine - Brown Derbies

Brick

St. Theresa - U. Penn Off the Beat

Just a Gigalo - Xtension Chords

Breathe - Harvard Radcliffe Callbacks

Friday I'm in Love - Dartmouth College Cords

Beautiful Stranger - U. Penn Off the Beat

Hey Ya - Hullabahoos

Stuff I Can't Do At Work With My Empty Time

Play online computer games
Play offline computer games
Play games
Watch streaming video
Watch a movie I brought from home
Read news online
Check my personal e-mail
Instant Message people with a personal IM client
Instant Message people with my company's IM client, including coworkers
Go to any website that is not Kaiser
Read a newspaper
Read a book
Listen to music out loud
Listen to music with headphones
Stand in a hallway talking to people
Stand in a hallway doing nothing
Eat in the room
Drink in the room


It's a pretty big deal because, you have to understand that we can have 1-4 empty hours a day, not including lunch. This pretty much leaves me twiddling my thumbs or commiserating with my coworkers, which I'm sure will soon also be outlawed. Also still free: gardening and, ostensibly, pillowfights, though my coworkers assure me that if we were to try, it'd be ruled out too. Also, until further notice, I can still have delusions of grandeur in my spare time. So since that's all I've got to go on for now, I suppose I'll be trying that out on Monday. I shall be the Queen of Kalamazoo, come for a visit. Just to see if they'll stomp out using one's imagination too.

Contact with the manager has been distant. It's a bit like being a colony on a faraway distant planet with just the superstrict armed forces to rule us and hand down the manager's orders. To put it mildly, relations are strained (at best).